Six-Dinner Sid

Atop a wall, a sleek, bright-eyed, black feline perches beside six stacked food dishes. Moore's appealing cover art is a droll prelude to her tale of Sid, a cagey, conniving cat with a voracious appetite. Sid resides in six homes simultaneously, where he relishes ``being scratched in six different places . . . and sleeping in six different beds'' and--most importantly--devouring six daily meals. Though they are neighbors, Sid's six owners do not talk to each other, so he gets away with this duplicitous lifestyle--until he develops a nasty cough, and is taken to the same vet six times. ``When they discovered what he had been up to, Sid's owners said he had no business eating so many dinners.'' So Sid seeks out greener--more hospitable--feeding grounds. Moore's warm watercolors depict a cozy, hillside neighborhood peopled with distinctively quirky characters. Her witty text contains just enough wordplay (``as Bob he had a job'') and gentle humor to appeal to parents and children alike. This tale of multiple mischief is as clever as the cat it features. Ages 4-8. (May)